On Tuesday, Cole remained in intensive care at Riverside Regional Hospital in Newport News, said Smith after the Sentinel requested an update on her daughter’s condition.

Smith wrote the following in a personal message: “Kirstin has blessed a lot of people by touching their lives someway or another, and is always willing to be there for anyone in need. All the support she has received via Facebook, text messages, phone calls and people coming to visit really shows this.”

Cole was named “the most caring and helpful student” at the Middlesex High School senior awards ceremony in June.

Smith said her family would like to thank the Hartfield Volunteer Fire Department and the Middlesex County Volunteer Rescue Squad for taking care of Kirstin.

Smith also thanked Ashley Nicole Schultz and her family who came upon Kirstin right after the accident and stayed with her until help arrived.

Sergeant Scott Edelman of the Virginia State Police did not identify the driver of the vehicle because she was a juvenile at the time of the crash.

Cole turned 18 years old on Monday.

Sgt. Edelman said Trooper B.H. Wintermantel responded to and is investigating a single-vehicle crash that occurred on Sunday, August 18, at 5:11 p.m.

A 2007 Chevrolet Trailblazer SUV was traveling southbound on Route 3 (Twiggs Ferry Road) south of Stampers Bay Road in Middlesex County when it crashed. The vehicle ran off the right side of the roadway, struck a post and then trees on the roadside, according to the police investigation.

The driver was restrained by a safety belt. She was transported by ambulance to Walter Reed Hospital in Gloucester. She was later transferred to Riverside Regional Medical Center in Newport News with serious injuries.

The driver was the only occupant in the vehicle. The roadway was wet at the time of the crash, but it appears that it was not raining, according to police.

The condition of the tires on the vehicle was found to be defective, said Sgt. Edelman.

It is undetermined if speed or alcohol were a factor in the crash and driver distraction is also unknown, said Sgt. Edelman. The investigation is ongoing to determine if driver distraction played a part in the crash, he added.